This invention relates to a bicycle carrying accessory attachable to the underside of a bicycle seat to enable comfortably resting the accessory on a shoulder, arm or the like for facilitating carrying of a bicycle.
Although the manual lifting and carrying of bicycles has been required under certain circumstances for many years, with the more recent advent and popularity of mountain bicycles and triathalon bicycles, the need for even more frequent lifting and portage of bicycles has arisen. This, of course, is due in part to the rough terrain over which mountain bicycles and triathalon bicycles are frequently ridden, oftentimes requiring a rider to dismount from the bicycle and carry it over or around obstacles where riding the bicycle would be extremely difficult if not impossible. Even when bicycles are used in less rigorous circumstances such as by commuters or apartment dwellers simply to ride over relatively smooth riding paths, there is oftentimes a need for carrying the bicycles up several flights of stairs to keep them in safe places, free from theft or vandalism.
A commonly used approach for assisting and making more comfortable the carrying of bicycles involves employment of a pad which is attached to the underside of a top bicycle crossbar and to the forward side of the primary vertical bar so that the bicycle may be lifted or otherwise positioned to enable inserting an arm through the opening circumscribed by the crossbar, vertical bar and angled bar, and placing the pad onto the person's shoulder. In this position, the bicycle is balanced to maintain the pad on the shoulder so that the bicycle can be carried. One problem with this approach is that oftentimes there is not enough room in the space between the frame bars to allow inserting an arm and a shoulder to allow positioning the pad on the shoulder. The reason for this is that many bicycles include water bottle mounts and/or tire pump mounts in the space so that insufficient room is left to comfortably fit the arm and shoulder for carrying the bicycle. Another problem with the conventional approach is that even if the bicycle can be hoisted to the shoulder, the location of the pad and positioning of the bicycle make it difficult to balance the bicycle while it is being carried.